Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D.Y.) spoke out about the ongoing tariff battle between President Donald Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, but social media users all commented on her comments. Not that I accepted it.
The spat between Trump and Petro began after the Colombian leader refused to accept two deportation flights over the weekend, prompting Trump to retaliate. The two leaders threatened to raise tariffs on imports by 25% to 50%, and Trump ordered a travel ban and visa revocation for all Colombian government employees.
“I was just informed that two repatriation flights from the United States carrying numerous illegal criminals were not allowed to land in Colombia,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This order was issued by Colombia’s Socialist President Gustavo Petro, who is already very unpopular among the population.”
“Petro’s denial of these flights jeopardized the national security and public safety of the United States, and I have directed the administration to immediately take the following urgent and decisive retaliatory measures.”
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AOC gave her take on the Trump-Petro feud on Sunday’s X Post. (Reuters)
In an X post on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez argued that U.S. consumers are the only parties paying the tariffs.
“To ‘punish’ Colombia, President Trump is making coffee more expensive for all Americans,” the New York congressman said in a post. “Remember, we pay the tariffs, not Colombia.”
“President Trump is dedicated to making inflation worse, not better, for working-class Americans,” she added. “He is lining his own pockets and that of the billionaire class.”
Petro seemed to be a fan of AOC’s post and reposted it on his own X account.
Although tariffs can drive up prices, importers, which are businesses or entities that bring goods into the United States, end up paying the actual duties to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
However, higher prices are not guaranteed. Tariffs can lower global prices for goods as suppliers scramble to maintain access to the large U.S. market. Coffee suppliers in countries as diverse as Vietnam and Brazil, which produce more coffee than Colombia, could lower or maintain their prices.
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Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) accused President Trump of threatening Colombia’s president with tariffs. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Ocasio-Cortez’s tweet had garnered more than 47,000 likes from supporters as of 8 p.m., but was met with scorn from Trump supporters and tariff advocates.
“World record. In 35 minutes the tweet was already as old as hot milk,” wrote social media account Cataldo, referring to Petro’s immediate proposal to transport Colombian migrants on the presidential plane.
“Who would want to tell her that there are other countries that export coffee, not just Colombia?” wrote California Assemblyman Bill Esseri.
Conservative commentator John Cardillo echoed Essayri’s sentiments, suggesting the South American country “should take back its illegal immigrants.”
“Many other countries grow coffee beans. We can buy coffee from them,” Cardillo wrote to X.
Activist Adam Lowis told Ocasio-Cortez that Democratic politicians “don’t understand how tariffs work.”
“The price of Colombian coffee will go up, so I’m going to buy coffee from suppliers in other countries who will take away the illegal goods,” conservative user X wrote. “If companies continue to be bad actors, they will be reluctant to invest in Colombia any further.”
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Colombian President Gustavo Petro offered his country’s presidential plane as a deportation flight after Trump threatened the country with tariffs and other charges. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)
Fox News Digital has reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for additional comment.
Fox News Digital’s Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report.
Andrea Margolis is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Readers can send story tips to andrea.margolis@fox.com.
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